This home in Ono, Pa., was designed by Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design. It's one of over 40 buildings made of straw that Koko has designed in the Mid-Atlantic.
Straw bale homes typically have a "truth window," which is an opening left in the wall to see the straw underneath. This is where the truth window will be located in Diane Ferguson's home.
There were 650 straw bales bought from a local farmer to build this home.
Diane Ferguson has dreamed of building a natural home for many years. Her home built using straw bales is slated to be finished by October of this year.
This home in Ono, Pa., was designed by Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design. It's one of over 40 buildings made of straw that Koko has designed in the Mid-Atlantic.
ONO, Pa. — A house made of straw didn’t work well in The Three Little Pigs fable, but in reality the dry stalks can provide solid construction.
“I have dreamed of building a house made of natural materials,” said Diane Ferguson, a former environmental health professor.
Ferguson’s ideal home has about 650 straw bales stacked together like bricks. Bamboo stakes are driven through the stacked bales for extra stability. The straw bricks are then encased on the interior with clay plaster and the exterior with limestone plaster.
Diane Ferguson has dreamed of building a natural home for many years. Her home built using straw bales is slated to be finished by October of this year.
To make her natural home dream a reality, Ferguson worked with Sigi Koko of Down to Earth Design in Fawn Grove.
Koko, who has a master’s degree in architecture, has designed and helped build more than 40 natural homes throughout the Mid-Atlantic region since 1998. She became intrigued by natural construction during her studies.
“That just was so logical to me,” she said. “So I started exploring natural materials, generally, and doing research on that.”
Initially, the Pennsylvania architect wasn’t sure if such construction was possible in Mid-Atlantic states due to the climate, but she quickly discovered that straw is a universal building option.
“Just sort of in that general research I discovered the straw bale construction method,” Koko said. “I was just hooked. Once you have an insulation material that’s natural, you can build anywhere.”
Straw, with an R-value ranging from 36-48, insulates better than more commonly used construction materials. A typical wall R-value — which measures how well building insulation can prevent the flow of heat into and out of the home — ranges from 13-23. A higher R-value means superior insulation performance.
According to Koko, building with straw bales can lead to at least a 40% decrease in heating and cooling needs.
But she knows that people will have concerns with any new method, and building with straw is no different.
Fire, decomposition, and insect and rodent infestation are among the worries she often addresses, and they aren’t problems for straw bale construction, she said.
Most people think of straw bales being stacked in a barn, she said, and in those conditions, fire, decomposition and infestation are all possible. But when used to build a wall, the compression of the bales limits oxygen, which removes an essential component for fire. And the plaster that coats the straw is non-flammable.
Koko said testing has shown that straw walls exceed a two hour fire rating.
Compression, along with the plaster layers, also reduces water access and thus limits decomposition.
Straw needs a minimum of 18% moisture content before it starts to decompose or grow mold, which is the same percentage for wood decomposition, according to Koko.
“We don’t even think twice about building with wood,” she said. “Wood is exactly the same biological material as straw.”
As for insects, the compaction and plaster layers make the straw walls a poor habitat for bugs, and Koko said rodents won’t get through the multiple layers of plaster.
“I think whenever we hear something new, we try to take all our experiences and apply it, and that becomes the basis for the curiosity and the questions,” Koko said, adding that this process is not like stacking bales in a barn. “We’re building a tight wall with finished plasters on it that’s fully encapsulated.”
All of the straw bale building projects Koko has designed and helped build are fully compliant with building permits, she said, adding that homeowners just need to demonstrate compliance with building codes.
There were 650 straw bales bought from a local farmer to build this home.
In addition to being natural and energy efficient, there’s another win in building with straw — supporting local farmers.
“It’s kind of that win, win, win,” Koko said.
She often advises her clients to go to local auctions to find straw bales, or to look online for local farmers selling straw.
As for Ferguson, she happened to drive by a local farm while a farmer was out baling straw, so she stopped and asked him if he’d be interested in selling her bales so she could build her house.
“He gave me such a look. I’ll never forget it,” Ferguson said of the farmer’s reaction. “It was just priceless.”
But after Ferguson explained the process of building with straw, the farmer was all for selling her the bales. She bought 650.
Koko works with her clients throughout the entire building process.
“I support the builder and the subcontractors all the way through construction,” Koko said. “I don’t want the homeowner to have a difficult time hiring builders because they’re afraid that they have to figure out what straw bale building is.”
Ferguson was able to find builders and subcontractors willing to work with her non-traditional materials.
“I just feel their support and their love and their enthusiasm,” she said.
And Koko doesn’t just work with the builders on paper. She gets her hands dirty and enjoys being part of the construction process. She also offers workshops at the building sites.
Ferguson hosted a workshop at her house, where Koko, along with workshop participants, cut and placed all the bales.
“Sigi is teaching me as I go,” Ferguson said, and she plans to host more workshops during the next steps of the project, which include adding the plaster layers.
Straw bale homes often feature a “truth window,” a small opening in the wall to allow people to see the straw within. Ferguson’s truth window will be in her bathroom.
Straw bale homes typically have a "truth window," which is an opening left in the wall to see the straw underneath. This is where the truth window will be located in Diane Ferguson's home.
Her natural dream home should be complete by October, and she hopes it creates a ripple effect, encouraging others to consider doing the same.
Koko is certainly hoping to see more straw-based homes in the Mid-Atlantic.
“If you can build with wood, you can build with straw,” she said. “Any region (where) you wouldn’t think twice about building a wood structure, you absolutely could build a straw structure safely, durably, that will last a lifetime and is super energy efficient.”
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Stephanie Speicher is the regional editor at Lancaster Farming. She can be reached at sspeicher@lancasterfarming.com or 717-721-4457.
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